ECMC: Sour Marshmallow

Chapters

Earth Cutie Mark Crusaders?
It’s a kind of magic
An Uncut Diamond

Earth Cutie Mark Crusaders?

Day Two

The next day...

“Wakey Wakey, Sweetie Belle!”

Alos hadn’t noticed, but her sister had stuffed her into the large cupboard of her room while she slept. She was probably trying to prevent their parents from finding out. For someone so ditzy, she certainly had her moments of cunning. Suddenly, Alos had a thought that sent a jolt of panic through her stomach.

“Kate… do you know what happened to your brother? What do your parents think?”

“Oh, that? That’s nothing. I told them he had been sent to jail for breaking into some old man’s house, and that he wasted his one phone call on a… erm, a special hotline.” She blushed.

It spoke volumes about the relationship with his parents that not only did they not question this, but they had made no attempt to bail him out.

'Is this really the life I’m trying to return to? I think maybe staying as Sweetie Belle might be preferable…'

“Anyway, Sweetie, can you teleport? I’ve never seen you leave, so you must use some kind of trick to do it.”

Alos considered her response. She needed to take care not to ruin the delicate relationship Eris had spent God-knows-how-long forging with her--especially if she wanted to meet up with the other crusaders.

“Well, we played so much yesterday that I got kinda tired and, well, passed out. I didn’t have the magic to teleport away like usual.”

“Anyway, Sweetie, can you teleport? I’ve never seen you leave, so you must use some kind of trick to do it.”

“Well, we played so much yesterday that I got kinda tired and, well, passed out. I didn’t have the magic to teleport away like usual.”

“You can ACTUALLY teleport?” she said, eyes wide. "I was just kidding, since I knew you weren't like, ‘real’ before now.”

Alos’ smile became strained. 'Darn it Eris, what DID you tell her about me?'

“Hah, I was joking too! Most grown up unicorns can’t use that kind of spell, it’s way too advanced!” Alos grinned. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

“Eggs and bacon!”

Alos stared down at the miserable pile of glop on her plate. She felt bad enough about the eggs, but she couldn’t even bring herself to touch the bacon. It stank of that same dead meat smell that the tuna sandwich had, only saltier.

“Sorry, Kate, I can’t eat meat, y’know, being a pony and all.”

Kate however was staring out the window. She seemed concerned.

“Hey Kate, what’s the matter? I can’t see whatever you’re looking at!”

Kate wordlessly lifted Alos to the level of the window, and then he saw her. Eris was dancing in the corner of his eyes, looking pleased with herself.

“Kate, I’m going out there. Please don’t follow me, it isn’t safe, not for you.”

Just after leaving the house, Alos could have sworn she heard her sister call her by her real name, the name she had been called before she had become Sweetie Belle. But she had no time to consider this, not now.

“Yes? What is it that you’re after now, Eris?”

"Oh, I’m just happy; your sister made a very interesting wish last night." Little Eris said, a wicked grin lighting up her face. "And since I basically took over the magic of this world, I decided to grant it."

"What wish?" Alos asked, curious and more than a little scared.

"Oh, she just wished to become friends with talking ponies like you, no matter what."

“...What? Sis, you have no idea what you could have just done… Eris, please, don’t corrupt her wish. She’s an innocent in all this, and she’s your friend. I can’t believe you’d be that heartless, even you must care a little about what happens to this world!”

"Well, you probably think I’m just like Discord, right? WRONG! Girls do things differently than boys, and my youthful appearance is not a disguise, I’m actually several eons younger than the Discord you saw in the show."

“Then tell me, Eris, what plans do you have for this world? It is almost completely without magic, as I’m sure you’ve seen by now. We do things with technology here. The sun and moon rise by themselves--in fact, that’s not even scientifically accurate! We orbit the sun, and the moon orbits us! I don’t understand why a so-called ‘creature of-'"

Eris snapped her claws and Alos’ mouth shut tight. "Bla bla bla, boring!"

"Look, I know a lot about Earth already, and what plans I have for it? Let's just say it involves you and the rest of the Earth Cutie Mark Crusaders. And your sister, which basically means that she gets to travel with you in your adventure."

Alos was struggling with her mouth, which simply refused to open no matter what. Suddenly she felt the fear and sadness that a real filly would feel at that point, and her eyes started to tear up. Eris sighed in disgust and undid the spell with another snap of her claws.

“Eris, please. The location of the other crusaders, you promised.”

"Well, Scootaloo has a Facebook account,as for Applebloom... you’ll meet her later." Eris smiled at Alos. "I also took the liberty to make Scootaloo’s facebook the start page of your web browser. Just take some pics, update your own Facebook, and answer his post."

Alos rushed to her computer. She saw that she had a new email from her chatroom “chum” Spikezeezy. As for typing, Unicorn magic and a pencil solved her lack of hands problem for using her keyboard, but it also made things a tad slower. It wasn’t as convenient as using her tongue, but less ridiculous, and far less nauseating!

Dear Princess Failestia,

Sup Horselover, while you were getting hot and bothered over pics of Celestia some weirdo posted some really well done scootaloo pics on his facebook. He’s become sort of underground famous overnight. You know, with you freaks.

I only heard about it because one of my contacts is into this stuff unironically (Not like me, I’m 100% all natural ironic, baby.)

Anyway, look up ‘Chewie’ if you want to see some pretty decent Scootaloo pictures. Maybe you guys can add them to your creepy shrine for an underage horse.

Your faithful servant,

Spikezeezy (PS Get a life)

Alos didn’t need telling twice. He reached Chewie’s page and sent him a message.

It’s happened to me too. Where are you? We should meet up. I’ll post videos if you don’t believe me.-- Alos88

"You should probably use your other name, Sweetie Belle." Eris said then snapped her claws and got Alos dressed with a cute pony dress.

-Uh… hold on, I will be right back, I need to find out where I live exactly. Alright, I live at 2940 Richardson Avenue; it is a big, ugly gray house, you can’t miss it-- Chewy_Card

Alos was conflicted. Should he be glad he was finally wearing clothes, or angry that Eris has dressed him in the most embarrassing dress imaginable? It was a frilly pink number, the sort of thing little girls would play with. He felt like he belonged to a dollhouse wedding set.

'I’d change, but I get the feeling Eris would get mad if I tried going against her wishes. Probably wiser to just grin and bear it.'

“Kate, I’m going to need you to do me a favor, okay? You put me in a box and tell mum and dad--your mum and dad, I mean--that you’re going to a surprise birthday party for a friend. Then you take a bus to this address, with me in the parcel. Okay?”

“Why can’t you just pretend to be a stuffed toy? It’d be easier than lugging you around in a box everywhere.”

'What can I say? My sister may be a little crazy, but when she’s smart she’s smart!'

After what felt like an eternity the two reached the house of Chewie, or “Scootaloo” as she had come to be called. Apparently her family had taken to her quite well, surprisingly.

Alos knocked on the door, grateful that there were still some things his hooves could do as well as his hands. A friendly looking woman greeted him.

“Ohhhhh, more little ponies! Scootaloo said she was expecting a friend, come in!"

Scootaloo looked over the arm of the couch and stared at Sweetie Belle with big eyes, sparkling with happiness, “Sweetie Belle! Boy, am I glad to see you!” She leapt off of the couch and stood in front of Sweetie. “Have you seen Apple Bloom?” she asked as she looked around Sweetie to see if the third member of their group tagged along with her.

“No, I’m afraid not. By the way, have you run into a trickster named Eris? I think she’s responsible for our current predicament, and she told me a bunch of things, like how we won’t meet Applebloom for a while yet.”

“Oh,” Scootaloo said in a saddened tone, but quickly grew confused. “Who? I have not met this “Eris” before. Who is she and how ‘much’ does she know?”

“Well you aren’t gonna believe this, but she’s an alternate-universe Discord who came to our earth to cause… well, chaos. She said something about getting the three of us to work together to go on an epic quest or something.”

“What kind of quest? I bet it will be awesome!” Scootaloo’s wings began to flutter with excitement, suddenly, “Maybe we will get our cutie marks in adventuring!”

Suddenly Alos became frustrated.

“Our cutie marks? Have you forgotten that we aren’t the real Cutie Mark Crusaders? We’re not little fillies, we’re grown men, and we have to change back before we all start thinking like that!”

“I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, I just can’t help myself. I keep getting this weird feeling that we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders; I am just so confused!” Scootaloo sat down and put her head in her hooves.

Alos sighed. This had been happening to him as well; memories that weren't his, feelings that a grown man wouldn’t feel (at least not as strongly), he had even referred to himself as Sweetie Belle in his head on a few occasions! But even so, he knew he had to resist. Though it was getting harder and harder to resist the call of the cutie mark…

“So anyway, how have things been for you, Scootaloo? Oh, I’m sorry, do you prefer to be called Chewie?”

“It’s fine, you can call me Scootaloo, and things have been… umm… great?”

"Hahaha, looks like somepony likes being a Dodo way too much!" said a voice that Bittersweet found familiar. Then Eris appeared with a puff of smoke "So Scootaloo, do you enjoy being momma's little girl?"

“Leave her alone you big bully!” Alos said angrily “You’ve done nothing but--”

With a snap of her claws Eris silenced Alos again.

“Quiet you, and don’t think I’ll undo it early if you start crying like last time, I’m here to speak to her.”

“What do you want?” Scootaloo said confrontationally. “And I am not being ‘Momma’s little girl.’ She is just having way too much fun with having a little pony run around her house.”

"Oh really? Then why you keep that ribbon on your neck?" Eris teased and came close to the pegasus, then started to rub her right ear. "You are such a cute little filly, maybe you should take ballet classes after all…"

Scootaloo retreated and blushed with embarrassment, “I don’t like the ribbon being on me, I just don’t know how to take it off.” She tugged at the big bow with her teeth. “And there is ‘no way’ I am going to take ballet classes, ballet is so uncool and boring, not to mention girly. Rainbow Dash would laugh at me if she saw me wearing a small, pink, frilly tutu.”

Little Eris snapped her claws and made Scootaloo wear the small, pink, frilly tutu she dreaded so much. "Dance my puppet, dance!"

Scootaloo found herself dancing ballet against her will, what the hay?

“Let me go, you monster! I need to get out of this thing before anypony sees me!” Did she really just say 'anypony’? She is further gone than she realized.

Starlight entered the room and saw Scootaloo dancing in a cute little tutu, she couldn’t help but get a camera and take pictures, “Scootaloo, you are just so adorable in that outfit, maybe I should reconsider and enroll you for ballet lessons.”

“Noooooooo! My life is ruined!”

At that point Alos had had enough. Whilst the others were talking she had carefully snuck around the side, and suddenly charged headfirst at Eris. Smirking, she easily avoided the attack, and then casually flung her opponent at the wall with her telekinesis.

“Sweetie Belle!!” Applebloom cried.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine in a few hours. I can’t promise the same if she ever tries that again, though.” Eris said with a sick grin. “I have to say, I wasn’t expecting that. Not that she’d have done much damage anyway, but I thought she’d be smarter than to actually charge a creature with the power to manipulate reality, especially when she still can’t speak. Hmm, maybe I should leave her like that for awhile? It might teach her to be less reckless in the future. As for you--” Eris said, turning. “I trust you’ll be a good little filly and not try anything like that. I was being gentle, though the headache she’ll have when she wakes up might make her think otherwise.” Little Eris then looked at Kate. "Sorry you had to see this. But don't worry, soon you will have another little pony to be friends with." After saying those words, Little Eris poofed away.

Scootaloo stopped dancing but was still in the tutu, “Can somepony please get this off of me?”

Kate looked on with a mixture of confusion and horror. She rushed to Alos’ side. “Sweetie Belle? Sweetie Belle?...Alos?”

Alos slowly opened her eyes. She was bleeding slightly from her forehead, a sight that was far more unnerving given her current appearance.

“Kate… you called me Alos… you knew?”

Kate managed a weak laugh as she sobbed.

“Of course I knew, silly! As if I couldn’t tell you were my brother, even looking like this I knew who you were right away!”

Kate turned to Scootaloo, who was still struggling with removing the tutu.

“Quickly, get him some cold towels and ice!”

She started for the kitchen, but tripped over the tutu that still clung stubbornly to her lower right hoof. “I’m okay,” she said as she got back up and bolted into the kitchen.

Alos smiled.

“Kate… thanks for being my sister. I know I’ve treated you so poorly in the past, but I’m grateful for everything you’ve done. I just hope I can change back soon so I can be your big brother again.”

“Even if you don’t, you’re still the best brother I could ask for.” Kate said, hugging him. Then she grinned, "But I gotta say, you are a better sister than brother. In fact, I prefer you like this."

Alos knew the sweet moment they had was gone, sometimes Kate acted like a sweet kind sister, but most of the time… she was just too honest. And Kate was right. Alos was better with her sister as Sweetie Belle than she had ever been as a guy.

Would she be happier if I stayed like this? Would my parents? It’s not like I’ve lived a good life up to this point, if anything I was terrible, a terrible brother and a terrible son. What should I do, stay like this for them, or change back for my own sake?

Scootaloo returned with damp towels in her mouth, “Sorry it took so long, I didn’t know how to use the faucets with hooves, Star helped me though.”

“...Star? Who is that?” Alos asked.

“Star is my… er… my mother,” She struggled to get it out of her, “She made an OC that she named ‘Starlight,’ and she insists on me calling her that.”

“Wait, if she’s here, how come I haven’t seen her?” Alos asked, concerned.

“She was just in the kitchen with a camera, flashing pictures while I was dancing against my will.” She said, grumbling. “She won’t leave me alone for even a minute ever since I became Scootaloo. Speaking of, where is my scooter?” Scootaloo began to look around the living room, trying to find her precious scooter.

Oh, of course! That overly friendly mother of hers must be Starlight!

Alos didn’t have much energy but tried to speak as clearly as possible.

“Scootaloo, for the last time, you aren’t actually Scootaloo! We’ve got to give you a different name so we don’t get confused in the future. Maybe ScootaChew?”

As if to mock the new name, a box of cereal appeared out of thin air and felt over Chewy head. It had the image of a chicken and said "Scootachew, the best chew for your chicken!"

“Real funny, Eris.” Alos muttered sarcastically.

“Hey ScootaChew, you mind if I sleep here tonight? It’s getting kinda late and I’m sure your mom doesn’t mind, she seems to like having ponies around.”

“I don’t mind if you sleep over, Sweetie Belle, and you have no idea about how much Starlight is loving this… trust me.”

The girls stayed up late, laughing and talking about everything that had happened to them so far, and when they were finally too tired to continue Alos was grateful she wasn’t alone anymore.

“G’night, Scoots,” Alos yawned.

“Goodnight Sweetie Belle,” Scoots said as she laid on one of the couch’s cushions and quickly fell asleep.

Day Three

The next day Alos awoke to the sound of breakfast being cooked downstairs. Pancakes had always been her favorite breakfast, and to her pony nose the scent was pure heaven. If she had wings like ScootaChew she would have floated down the stairs like a cartoon character towards that wonderful smell.

“Hey there Sweetie, Scootaloo is still sleeping. Are you planning on sticking around?”

“Please, Mrs. Starlight, call me BitterSweet.”

“BitterSweet? That’s not a very cute name at all! No dear, I’m sorry but you’re Sweetie Belle to me, now and forever.”

Alos sighed. This was getting him now, and he needed a plan of action.

“Sweetie, do you need new glasses? There’s a big crack in those, I don’t think it’s safe to wear them anymore.”

Alos hadn’t noticed up to this point, but in the scuffle with Eris he can damaged the right lens of his glasses. Starlight was right, these weren’t safe to wear anymore.

“Mrs. Starlight, I hate to be a bother but could you maybe take me to get these fixed? I don’t think they’ll let me on the bus and I can’t afford a cab.”

At that suggestion, Starlight’s eyes lit up. She had clearly been waiting for this moment, a chance to have a shopping day with her very own little pony!

“Of course dear, in fact let’s make a day of it! A shame Scootaloo is asleep, but she probably wouldn’t want to go anyway.”

Alos scribbled a hastily drawn note on the refrigerator and left with Starlight. It became clear quite quickly that fixing her glasses was the last thing ScootaChew’s mom cared about.

They stopped off at a the hair salon first, where Starlight insisted Alos get a haircut. She chose a mercifully dignified style considering the temptation to make her even more cute must have been overwhelming.

“Strange, I thought I’d get a weird stare from the hairdresser at least.”

“Nobody goes to Benni’s for a haircut, sweetheart. In this economy he’d probably shave a sheep’s butt if he was getting paid for it!” Starlight laughed.

After that, Starlight ran into an old friend. She looked fascinated at the little filly in front of her.

“Oh hello, darling, so good to see you, Marcy! And who is this adorable little creature you’ve got with you?”

Alos smiled. Time for a little mischief.

“Sweetie Belle!” she said proudly.

Starlight’s friend suddenly turned pale and pulled a elaborate fainting act. Seconds later she was back on her feet.

“It can TALK?”

Starlight was wearing a strained grin and laughing uncomfortably. “Well yes, this is Sweetie Belle, a friend of my daughters.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma'am!” Alos said, extending a hoof.

The following conversation was almost entirely a one-sided string of questions; where she came from, what she ate, how old she was, why could she talk, and so on. By the end Alos was feeling exhausted. Starlight picked up on this and intervened.

“Well Michelle, it’s been a pleasure but we’ve really got to run, be sure to say hi to David and the dogs for me!”

Starlight left the woman standing there. It was clear she still had plenty of questions left to ask.

“Don’t look back, Sweetie, and move a little faster. If you had been a talking Chihuahua I think that madwoman might actually have talked you to death!” Starlight whispered.

"Now… Oh look at that!" Starlight pointed to a clothes store that said 'Clothes for cute ponies' this sure had to be Eris work!

"I think I could get you a cute dress, it won't be as nice as the sort that your sister Rarity makes, but… they have 30 percent off today for ponies wearing glasses, aren't you a lucky filly?"

Despite this clearly being something Eris had set up, Alos decided to make the best of the situation. Even if Starlight bought her something girly, at least she was being kind to her, and wearing anything was generally better than wearing nothing at all.

“Wow Starlight, you’d buy me a dress? You’re the best!”

Starlight smiled. She wished Scootaloo was this happy to be bought things.

Clothes stores had always been huge to Alos, but now she was a little filly it seemed to stretch on forever. There were clothes of all shapes and sizes in the store, and Sweetie Belle suddenly felt very self conscious.

A snooty looking man in a fancy suit took one look at Alos and turned his nose up in disgust and shock.

“Mam, this is a professional establishment, we do NOT allow animals in here, especially not livestock, now take your horse and leave at once.”

Eris must have put up that sign without the store owners realizing, Alos thought.

All of a sudden the smile on Starlight’s face became a look of fury more dark and terrible than anything little Eris could manage. “How DARE you? You call this sweet, innocent creature livestock? She’s a thinking, feeling thing, and look how sad you’ve made her!”

At this moment Alos tried her best to pull the saddest face imaginable. It was probably a little too effective, as the man changed tact immediately. “W-well, I’m terribly sorry mam, but rules are rules--”

“I demand to see the manager!”

After a extremely embarrassing half hour the scene was over. The store manager had apologized profusely and had given them a dress free of charge. Starlight turned to Sweetie Belle.

“Oh my dear, don’t let them get to you. You’re not livestock any more than I am, you’re a lovely little filly and I won’t let anyone else say anything different.”

Maybe going out with her wasn’t such a good idea, Alos thought. She thought that she would be the one causing a scene, not Starlight!

Still, it was very strange, why they had made such a big deal if they had pony clothes that only fit her or one of the other CMC anyway? Eris had a weird sense of humour.

"That was fun!" Little Eris said as the world froze and turned grayscale again, save for Sweetie Belle. "I was gonna change everyone in that store into ponies, but seeing Starlight here chewing them up was better! So, do you like your free dress?" Little Eris said and looked at BitterSweet all over

“It’s actually kinda nice, it’s casual and not too cute.” Alos said. “So wait, you can turn humans into ponies? Can you turn ponies into humans then?”

"What part of me being a female Discord you didn't understand? Or maybe you forgot it was me who changed you into a pony in the first place?" Little Eris snapped her claws, changing Starlight into a white unicorn, then snapped her claws and changed her back to a human. "I could change every human of the world into a pony, but that would be boring and stupid. The massive chaos caused by that event would cost millions of lives. Besides is way more funny to have three little fillies is a world made for humans than just, how your bronies call it, ponify the world?"

“Wait, Eris, sorry for asking but… how do you know that that much chaos could destroy the world? I mean it’s not like you--”

The look on Eris’ face said everything she needed to know.

“Oh my gosh, Eris I am so sorry.”

Eris ignored the question, quickly changing the subject.

"No wonder you have so much trouble to write anypony in character, have you ever seen a disaster movie? What would be humanity reaction at suddenly finding themselves changed into a completely different species? Think about it."

Alos thought hard about the question. She had never considered it until now.

“Well, I guess it would be a lot like what happened when I first changed. I trashed my room, well… I tried to. Except they would be fully grown ponies, and capable of causing actual damage, and there would be billions of them… it would be the Ponocalypse!”

Eris facepalmed.

“Heh heh, sorry, I couldn’t help myself” Alos grinned sheepishly.

"Well, yes that's what would probably happen. Anyway… MUSIC!" Little Eris snapped her claws, the world returned to normal and Sweetie Belle found herself singing.

All I need is a palace by the sea,

and a place we can dream,

You’re so gentle and so kind,

that I really wouldn’t mind

Being wherever you want to be!

Give my heart and head some space,

name a time and a place,

And I’ll meet you there and then!

We can dance there by the moon

And I hope I see you soon

So our song can begin again!

Alos put his hooves over her mouth. That singing wasn’t voluntary, in fact she didn’t even remember the lyrics after saying them!

Starlight applauded her, "That was wonderful dear!"

Little Eris was now nowhere to be seen.

'Darn it Eris, don’t make me sing in public! Even if my new voice isn’t bad at it…'

A note seemed to fall out of the sky. Alos read it.

(Bored. I’ll leave you two to have fun, maybe I’ll go bother Applebloom… I hope you enjoyed today, because tomorrow our training begins!)

“Our ‘training’? That can’t be good…” Alos sighed.

As the two walked Alos’ stomach rumbled. He blushed, forgetting that he hadn’t eaten much at breakfast.

“Awwww, somepony’s little tummy is hungry!”Starlight laughed.

Alos wasn’t sure what her new body could and couldn’t eat, so he drank an apple and wheatgrass smoothie. He imagined it would have tasted awful to his old self, but the flavors sparked and flashed on his new palette, and he greedily slurped down the drink in seconds.

'Wheatgrass smoothy? In the real world? It must be Eris again. Well, maybe she should be grateful Eris was giving her pony stuff, right?'

“Oh my, somepony was a hungry little filly! Would you like a second smoothy?”

“Yes please!”

By the end of the meal Alos’ stomach was complaining for entirely different reasons.

'Urgh, why did I eat three of them? Even Starlight thought I was being greedy.'

“Careful, Sweetie, we’ll have to start calling you “My Little Piggy” at this rate!” Starlight laughed.

Bittersweet had to stop herself about singing an invented song called 'My Little Piggy,' since when she had so much inspiration?

Meanwhile, with Chewy… also know as Scootachew…

Scootaloo was exhausted. When she finally awoke it was four in the afternoon, not that she could tell. She walked to the fridge and groaned. Eris had filled it with the same "ScootaChew" brand cereal from before.

“Hilarious.” She muttered, about to chuck it in the trash, when she suddenly noticed the writing on the back;

ScootaChew is the tastiest, most nutritional cereal around! It’s the perfect start to your day, and is the number one breakfast of growing ponies everywh--DON’T YOU DARE CHUCK IT IN THE TRASH I MANIFESTED A WHOLE CEREAL OUT OF NOTHING AND YOU ARE GOING TO AT LEAST TRY IT!

“...Wow. Okay, Eris, I guess I’ll do that much. If it’s full of broken glass or something though I’m gonna kick your ass.”

The first mouthful was like eating deep fried rainbows, and the second was like a party in her mouth. This stuff was chaos, and chaos was delicious!

...And then the third bite tasted like earwax. Chaos was delicious only when it felt like it, apparently.

Well, she at least tried it. What's next? Ah, right, that weird girl Kate, was around, maybe she should try to do some small talk?

"Uh, hi?" Scootaloo looked at the eleven year old girl, the girl looked back.

"What does it feels like?" Kate asked. "To be a pony, is it still you on inside, or Scootaloo is taking over?"

Scootachew had to think hard about this. What was it like being a pony?

“Well, the four legs thing is weird at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly. And having a muzzle is weird too, ‘cause it kinda obscures your vision for a little while, but you get over it quickly. Your taste buds change too, I can’t stand eating meat anymore, and what else… oh yeah, you can smell and hear things way better this way. Plus, if you’re lucky like me you get wings, but mine can’t do much on their own currently. I wish I had my scooter… do you have a scooter I could borrow?”

"Sorry, no scooter. Maybe Eris will give you one later. She told me that you and the other CMC need to save the world from some great evil. It's weird, ya know, I've talked to imaginary creatures for years, like, I keep imagining a lot of things, and then it turns out… one of them was real. Last right I had a dream where I played chess with Eris in my mind. I know she used to pretend to be Sweetie Belle, and now my brother is a pony and my sister. It makes me feel… like I fit more? Because the world is going insane?" Kate looked at Scootaloo and then hugged her. "Can I brush your mane and tail?"

“Okay, but only if you’re gentle, okay? I tried it before and maybe it was the comb I was using but it really hurt.”

Kate was very, very careful with her brushing, and after a few minutes Scootachew relaxed.

“So anyway, did I ever tell you about the time Rainbow and I raced around the whole of Ponyville? I was using my scooter, but Rainbow Dash was winning. She was always just a little ahead of me, and kept yelling words of encouragement. I knew she could go a lot faster. but she always let me think I could catch up if I tried just a little harder…”

Scootachew’s expression became sad.

“It wasn’t easy growing up an only child. If it wasn’t for Rainbow Dash I don’t know what I’d do. I really, really miss her…”

Scootaloo began to cry.

“I only get to see her in dreams now…”

Kate hugged and petted the filly. "Eris told me something… she told me you guys only become as much like the CMC as you were comfortable with. Was your human life so bad you desperately wanted to be somepony else?"

“Well, it’s weird but my human memories are like an old home movie now, they’re all fuzzy and I can’t remember half of it. I don’t think it’s gone, but I remember that it wasn’t very nice. I think I’ve just buried it under all this new stuff. I gotta be honest, I think I like Scootaloo’s memories a lot more. Is it wrong to wish you were somepony else sometimes? I mean, isn’t it important to be who you are, no matter how ugly the truth is?”

"Well, the thing is, people and ponies can change. But… you should not forget who you really are. You should try to take the best of both human and pony, to make a new better you. For example, Scootaloo is a very impulsive pony, do you really want to jump into things without thinking? I get that your life as a human sucked, and that your mother likes you better as a pony but… this is Earth, not Equestria. If you completely repress your human memories, you will be lost. Balance is needed to keep the universe in order." Kate then ticked the pony's belly. "Now Smile, Smile!"

“Heheheheheh! Why is everyone always ticklin’ me? I’m not that ticklish hehehehehehe!”

Scootachew decided it was time for her to ask the questions. She knew very little about Bittersweet aside from her name, and what she remembered about her from her Equestria memories.

“So Kate, what is your brother--er, I mean sister--like?”

"When she was a human, she was kind of a jerk honesty. As a pony… she is a great sister. I like her much better this way."

“Heh, well he said you were a little too honest for your own good, but he really likes you. I get the feeling you weren’t very close until this happened, huh? At least something good came out of all this.”

"True, so, wanna tell me why did your human life suck so much?"

“Well, to be honest that’s a long story, and like I said I’ve buried most of it, but I guess I never really got along with people. If it weren’t for the show I don’t think I’d have been very happy.” Scootaloo thought for a second. She seemed to be thinking of a rather difficult question. “Hey Kate, if you could become a pony like your sister, would you do it?”

"No, I like being human, thank you. Besides I am traveling with you guys anyway. And I am just a side-kick, if I became a pony Eris would probably make me into Woona or something, and it would steal the spotlight of you guys."

Scootaloo briefly imagined herself having moon adventures with Princess Woona, a grayscale and cute filly version of Princess Luna.

She was more surprised at Kate’s indifference to being a pony than anything. She had seemed so fond of them, but then again Kate was probably right. Having hands made being human worthwhile all on it’s own, after all.

“So what did Eris tell you? That you were going to save the world with us? I don’t think your brother would be very happy with the idea of you going on some journey, not if it was going to be dangerous. I mean, you’re no Daring Do, no offense.”

"I could be if I wanted, but as I said, you are the heroes of this story. And it was my wish to be friends with talking cartoon horses anyway." Kate stared at Scootaloo. "Besides, you will need adult supervision. Plus, unlike somepony here, my ID and legal documents are still valid." Kate then stared Scootaloo down, as if daring the little pony to contradict her.

“Wait a second, you’re like ten and you have an ID? How on earth did you get it?” Scootaloo was astonished, but decided to not push her luck after noticing Kate’s sudden intense stare. “I’m sorry Kate, I shouldn’t have asked…” Scootaloo put on her cutesy sad face, the one she had been practicing.

"Eris got me all the legal documents, basically, if anypony asks, I am an emancipated child, legally considered an adult. Now missus, I will give you a bath!" Kate picked up Scootaloo and took her to the bathroom, she took out the pony’s bow then turned the shower on, once she made the water was warm, yet not scalding hot, she put the little pegasus under it.

“Hey, I didn’t--” Scootaloo’s protest went unheard as she was dumped into the bathtub. She decided not to complain, as she had wanted a bath for awhile now and had been completely unable to reach the tub herself.

She must be stronger than she looks to lift a whole pony like that, she thought.

“Hey Kate, this water’s barely lukewarm, turn it up a little will ya? OUCH, not that hot!”

Kate laughed. First she got to brush her mane, and now she was giving her a bath. This was better than playing with her toys could ever be. Grabbing a bottle of soap, she casually tossed the entire contents into the water.

“No, Kate, there’s too many bubbles, what if it gets in my eyes?”

“Oh stop struggling, I didn't even use the shampoo yet!”

“Wait, is that stuff safe for ponies?”

This went on for several minutes, and afterwards Scootaloo was more than a little annoyed.

“I don’t know if that’s how you think you bathe a horse, but you were way too rough!”

“So I was… roughhorsing?”

They both laughed at that one, the mood lightening up somewhat.

"Anyway… you are so cute I would ask you to sleep with me, but it would sound weird. And you are real, not a plushie." Kate then started to dry Scootaloo. "So… let's be honest, you where a guy before, how are you dealing with that?"

Scootaloo blushed all of a sudden. She hadn’t really thought about the fact that she had switched genders very much until now.

“W-well, I try not to worry too much about that. It’s weird enough changing species, y’know? But, you’re right, I’d feel weird sleeping in the same bed as you like a plush toy. I mean, do I really look like one of your pony plushies?”

Kate went to fetch one, and came back with a large Rainbow Dash doll. It was huge, almost the same size as Scootaloo, and it had a proud soft mane which actually managed to impress the little filly.

“Wow! She looks just like her! Well, as close as a plushy could get. Hey Kate, I need to ask you a favor; could I sleep with this plushie tonight? I’ve been kinda wishing I could talk to Dash again, and if I can’t do that then I want to at least pretend she’s still here with me.”

"Sure, but if you damage it, I am putting a dog collar on you." Kate then tied the bow back in Scootaloo neck. "You look cute with the bow, is like saying 'hey world, I am cute, yet tomboyish', plus it makes you slightly different to the real Scootaloo."

“Not the bow again! I don’t care how cute it makes me, I can’t stand it!”

ScootaChew stormed off to her room. It was still a mess from last night, but it hardly mattered. She wondered where on earth her mother and Bittersweet were, and decided to give them a call, but gave up after she realized she couldn’t dial the phone with her teeth.

She was far too tired to go on, and so she decided to get an early night. She had a bad feeling that Eris was going to make things even harder for her tomorrow, so she might as well conserve her strength.

“It’s been a long day, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, nestling snuggly next to the plush toy.

It’s a kind of magic

Kate stood at the door and took a few pictures with her cell phone, but said nothing. Then she herself took a bath and went to sleep.

That night Eris visited ScootaChew’s dreams again. She saw her playing with Rainbow Dash, happy and completely caught in the moment.

“Hmm, I guess I can let her have a nice uninterrupted dream every once in awhile.” Eris smiled, vanishing.

When Alos got home it was almost midnight. Starlight was carrying three huge bags from their shopping spree, and though Alos had offered to carry one in her mouth she had been adamant to bear the burden herself.

“Applebloom, sweetheart, we’re home!”

“I’m pretty sure she’s asleep by now, Starlight.”

Alos was far too tired to worry about where to sleep and so simply curled up and drifted off on the couch.

“Starlight, tell Kate to contact our parents, they might be freaking out if she doesn’t call them soon…” Alos mumbled, yawning.

“Shall I read you a story, Sweetie Belle?”

But she was already far away in her dreams.

Day Four

When she opened her eyes she could see nothing. She immediately panicked and ran into a wall, which was cold, wet, and heavily textured.

“Careful now, Sweetie. You don’t want the spiders to hear.”

Alos heard the sound of a match being struck and turned toward Eris. She was lighting a candle.

“I love candles. Birthday candles, Christmas candles, scented candles, I love them all! Do you know why?”

“Where the heck am I Eris?”

“In a cave. We’re about to begin your training.” she smiled.

“There is a nasty little species of spider in here, Sweetie. Each one contains a teeny tiny little bit of poison. Getting bit by one won’t hurt you, but they attack in numbers, and enough bites and you’ll get sleepier and sleepier until… well.”

“How can I escape?”

“That’s where the candle comes in. You see, BitterSweet, I love candles because they’re like an hourglass that provides light. And these wonderful little spiders hate the light, so if you don’t manage to use your magic to remove all the little stones I’ve placed over the exit-”

She pointed to a huge pile of little rocks.

“-you’ll be, well, dinner. Pony a la mode.” Her grin took on a new wickedness under the eerie glow of the candlelight.

“Well, I’ll be off. Don’t disappoint me.” She disappeared with a flash.

Hours passed, and Alos’ desperation increased with every flicker of the flame. She put everything she had into clearing away the rock, but it was no use. For every one she removed, ten lay there, obstinate, until at last the candle died.

For a few desperate minutes the cave was still, save for the sound of Alos’ desperate digging. Using magic took a concentration that she had barely been able to utilize when the candle was lit, but now it had become almost impossible.

Then she felt the first spider crawl up her leg.

It was a tiny little nibble, and it only tickled rather than sting, but her scream echoed into the darkness. She began to flail about as more joined in, first tens, then hundreds.

As she moved one final stone she saw a light through the cracks. She had almost done it, but then her eyelids became heavy and she succumbed to the spiders.

“Eris… how could… you…”

Rather than feel a heavenly embrace, the first thing she felt was an ice-cold bucket of water pour onto her face. She rubbed her eyes and saw Eris standing there.

“Congratulations, you passed!”

Her reaction was so automatic that Eris herself didn’t have time to dodge. Out of nowhere she landed a kick on Eris’ face. Even Eris herself seemed shocked.

“Well now I’m really impressed! But we aren’t doing combat magic just yet, don’t get ahead of yourself,” She smiled.

“I passed? But I didn’t even move all the rocks!”

“Meh, you almost got there, and that was with your silly phobia of spiders.” Eris summoned one of the arachnids out of nowhere, then ate it.

“You didn’t really think I’d actually let you die, would you? After all the effort I put into setting this plan in motion? Besides, it was pitch black in there, if I was going to watch you get eaten by spiders I would have brought a torch and popcorn!” Eris grinned. “Just kidding about that last part. I hate popcorn.”

“So why are we back at ScootaChew's house? Was it all a dream?”

Eris clapped sarcastically. “Great going Sherlock, now maybe you’ll tell me what colour the sky is.”

Alos grumbled. She had just died, or as close as she could without doing so, and Eris was cracking jokes like it was nothing.

“So, you’ve gotten the dullest part of our training out of the way. Not we play in the Crushing Chamber!”

'Hooray, I love the Crushing Chamber! It’s my second favorite deadly training exercise' Alos thought bitterly.

With a snap of her claws Eris brought them to a strange area. It was a bright white room, like a gym hall, and the floor was covered with directional arrows.

“Hey Sweetie Belle, do you know what rhythm games are?”

“Yeah, you have to press the buttons at the right time to win.”

"You are right! Except in this room, if you don’t dodge to the right arrow fast enough, you get crushed by the ceiling. Oh and no teleport spell power up for ya! You need to learn to dodge the earth pony way. Better to dodge with your on hooves than waste your magic. ”

Alos laughed. She wasn’t falling for that again.

“So? You’ve already told me you won’t let me die-”

“-three-”

“-so what do I need to be afraid of-”

“-two-”

“-anyway? I bet the ceiling barely even-”

A pillar of the ceiling directly above Alos shot downwards onto the poor filly. The pain was excruciating.

“-one.”

Eris floated over to Alos, and bent down next to her face, which was planted in the ground.

“So what do you say now, smart filly?”

“Can… can we go back to the spiders?”

The next few hours were like a twisted exercise video. Eris barked orders whilst sipping a drink from the luxury of an armchair whilst Alos ducked and dived as best she could.

“Left! Right! Up! Down!”

“Eris, I need to eat something-!”

“Well I keep giving you chocolate cake, but it keeps getting crushed for some reason. If you aren’t going to eat what I give you why should I bother? Left! No, not your left, MY left!”

During a brief merciful break Alos decided to ask some questions.

“Wait, why are we practicing dodging? That isn’t magic!”

“It is when it saves your tail from getting squashed.” Eris laughed.

“So why do I need to learn magic anyway? Won’t that take years?”

“Well, I needed to accelerate your growth a little. You’ll pick up magic ten times faster than any other pony your age, and your friends will become formidable in their own right too… once I’m done beating the weakness out of them. And I don’t plan on stopping there, either. By the time I’m done with you you’ll be able to pull off spells even Celestia herself would struggle with!”

“But why? I thought we were enemies.”

“We’re not enemies kid, in fact I’m the best friend you’ve got right now. By the time this is over you and your friends will realize that.”

“Yeah, right.” Alos muttered.

“Yeah, RIGHT!” Eris shouted.

A few seconds later Alos was crushed again. This was starting to become annoying.

“Okay, kid, it’s time we played my favorite game in the world; laser guided baseball!”

Alos was suddenly taken to the same pocket of space he had met Applejack in the "Dream World"

“Wait, why are we out here?”

“Because in space,” Eris grinned, summoning a rocket launcher, “nobody can hear you scream.”

“The rules are simple. I fire rockets and you blast them out of the sky! Any questions?”

“Well yes actually-”

“-TOO BAD!” Eris fired the first rocket.

The rocket stopped inches away of Sweetie Belle "Uh?"

"Silly pony, how could you blow stuff up if I didn't teach you how?" Eris said laughing.

"Then what the hay I was supposed to do?" Bittersweet asked enraged.

"In combat, you won't always have the right spell for every situation, and is not like you will have time to sit and think what to do. Still, didn't I teach you to DODGE? THEN WHY IN TARTARUS YOU DIDN'T TRY TO DODGE?"

"I panicked, okay?" Sweetie Belle then moved slowly away from the rocket.

"Well, I guess a rocket was too fast for the skills you got now. Besides, I said it was laser guided baseball, didn't I?"

Little Eris then made the floating rocket disappear and turned the rocket launcher in a baseball shooting machine with a laser guide. The laser was aiming right into the filly unicorn horn.

"Wait! Aren't you gonna teach me a new spell or something?"

"Oh, where is the fun in that? Besides, dodging small flying targets is just step two of dodging training!"

Alos spent several hours dodging the baseballs, and as Eris grew bored they flew faster and faster. By the end she had them break into several smaller balls in mid flight, making it even harder to dodge.

“Think fast, we’re taking this thing to the next level! Let’s see you handle a curveball!”

The next ball disappeared as it approached, before hitting Alos from behind. She turned and saw a second Eris standing behind her; there were two of them, some kind of duplicate!

“Let the crossfire COMMENCE!”

Alos was now constantly dodging from all angles. Before long, baseballs were raining from the heavens, and coming up from below too.

“I… can’t… do… this!”

“You need to focus, Sweetie! Believe me, if you can’t handle this then you’ll never defeat- oops, nearly gave the name away!”

Alos concentrated, closing her eyes for a second. When she opened them she found she could almost sense the balls before they arrived, and she dodged almost all of them.

“Wow, I’m a better teacher than I thought.” Eris muttered quietly.

"Okay, I think you earned the right to a spell." Eris said and snapped her claws, the world around them faded away and the two girls found themselves in a shooting range.

"Now, the correct way to teach this spell takes a lot of time, so I will just teach you the evil version."

"Evil?" Alos asked "But won't that-"

"Relax, it’s just focusing your negative emotions then blow stuff up, basically I will teach you the laser ray attack Twilight Sparkle used in her fight against the changelings, only this is the dark magic version. Just point your horn at a target, focus your magic in your horn, then think negative thoughts and let the magic get released on the target. Remember to also focus on wanting the target destroyed, or you might hurt yourself instead!"

Alos focused all her hate into hitting the target Eris had provided. It was a poorly created Applebloom doll. The laser fizzled pathetically, like a stream of confetti in energy form.

“...Why did you make it look like Applebloom? I don’t wanna hurt her!”

“To prove a point. Dark magic, like all magic, is about intent. If you don’t want to hurt your target, if you have even a little doubt, the slightest hesitation, the spell will fail. Oh, and if you’re wondering why a little filly like you can use such ridiculously powerful magic, well, really you’re just borrowing a little of my power. Think of yourself as a conduit for my magic, rather than it being your own.”

Eris summoned a doll of herself instead.

“Try using the spell on that. Think of all the things I’ve put you and your friends through, all the frustration and misery.”

Alos had a sudden idea. She charged the spell as best she could, and her horn began to glow a dark shade of purple. Just as she was about to fire she turned towards the real Eris and unleashed the spell.

There was a bright flash of light, and the resulting beam was like something out of a comic book. She wondered if she had actually hurt her. Eris appeared, unharmed and grinning wildly.

“Now,” she said, her eyes glinting with madness, “you’re thinking like a dark magic user.”

“I… I am?” Alos said. The idea she had done something that evil sickened her, but she had been wanting to cause that kind of damage all day. A small part of her still wished the spell had actually hit Eris.

"But, you’re supposed to be a heroine, so I’m afraid that won’t do. Try again, on the doll this time, and just focus on wanting it destroyed, no other emotions; you WANT it destroyed, you NEED it destroyed, understand?"

Sweetie Belle was confused, why didn't Eris teach her to do the attack that way first? Then she looked at the Eris doll, it was not the real Eris, but it was close enough. Still, she tried to push all her anger away, she focused on just wanting to destroy the doll. Before she knew what happened, she shot a ray of green magic that turned the doll to ashes.

"Well done, just a thousand more targets to do, and this time, they will be moving targets!" Eris snapped her claws and Sweetie Belle found herself in a big blue room that looked out of a videogame, a lot of Eris' doll floating around. At first blasting the dolls away was easy, but after over a hundred she fell down, panting hard.

Little Eris appeared next to her. "Now, my cute student, what have you learned?"

“Kill everything that moves, and Dodging is Magic.”

"No, it was supposed to be a lesson about how dark magic is easier but bad, and that you can't do everything on your own." Eris said, sounding disappointed.

“Oh yeah, that too I guess. So why did you teach me the ‘wrong’ kind of magic, then? To teach me a moral about doing what’s right rather than what’s easy?”

"Actually, it was more because you need to know good from bad. Most magic teachers avoid teaching the dark arts, but that's like telling a little foal to not do something, the student will want to learn the dark arts because he or she is not supposed to. If the teacher instead showed them dark magic and proved them how harmful it can be, there would be a lot less evil wizards and witches, don't you think?"

“Hmm, you’ve really put some thought into this. Hey Eris, as a reward for all my hard work, can I handle that Rocket Launcher you were holding before?

Eris shrugged and the rocket launcher appeared in Alos’ hooves.

“Haha, think fast!” Alos fired it straight at her. The missile curved around in mid air.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, it’s missiles only seek ponies.”

“...son of a-”

One huge explosion later, Eris teleported them back home.

“Well, that was a productive day. Are you okay Sweetie, you look a little under the weather?”

Alos was still smoldering slightly. Eris chucked him a bandage and vanished.

“Sweetie Belle, is that you dear?” Starlight asked, wandering into the room.

“Oh my, Sweetie Belle, are you alright?”

“Never better.” Alos coughed.

"Now darling, you don't look good." Starlight said and picked the little pony up, then she cleaned her and gave Alos first aid. "Now dear, care to explain what happened to you?"

"Uh… Eris?" Sweetie Belle said, Starlight seemed to stand still for a moment then went to the kitchen and brought her a bowl of ice-cream with a big spoon.

"Weird." Alos said and used her magic to eat the ice-cream, she found that her telekinesis was stronger than before, in fact it was almost effortless. Why had saying Eris’ name had made the human react that way? Wait, human? Was Alos thinking of herself as not human already?

She then found a post-it note glued to the ice-cream bowl.

"From now on, your name is Bittersweet or Sweetie Belle."

Strange, why did Eris cared if she called herself A… she couldn't even think it!

'Alright, this is really too much Eris. I mean, censoring my thoughts? That’s a whole new level of cruel, even for you, A- BitterSweet' thought.

“So who is this ‘Eris’ character, Sweetie?” Starlight said.

“The meanest, most hateful, evil wonderful and intelligent Dragonequss you’ll ever meet!... DARN IT ERIS, STOP MESSIN’ WITH MY HEAD!”

The world turned grayscale, freezing everything but the little pony, who remained in color "Fine, but the name change stays." Eris voice said in her head, then the world returned to normal.

"What we were talking about?" Starlight asked confused.

"Uh, you were going to bed and decided to let me watch TV all night?"

"Nice try, darling, but is time for you to go to bed." Starlight picked the little pony and took her to the guest room, it only had a single bed and Kate was using it, but the woman prepared Sweetie Belle a big basket with pillows and sheets to sleep in.

Something strange was in the air that night, however. Rather than go to sleep Sweetie Belle began to hear a strange music playing outside. She slowly went down the stairs, and crept out the window.

The grass was cold, and the breeze was soft and refreshing against Sweetie Belle’s fur. She began to follow the music down the road.

'Strange, I think I’ve heard this tune before…'

She came to a stop all of a sudden, in the middle of a forest clearing. The moonlight shone brightly down, and as she looked up she saw something incredible.

“The stars, they’re-!”

Above her, the constellations warped into words. She began to read.

"Hey, is this thing on? Oh hi Sweetie Belle! Oh, I guess that isn’t really you, huh? Luna is using her magic to send you a message across the stars! Oh wait, no, she’s writing you a message WITH the stars across worlds! She said she'd write it herself, but she’s using all of her power just to keep the line open. I was the only one around to help, so she told me to write it instead.

Anyway, what are the parties like in your world? Do they have cake? Balloons? I was just thinking the other day about how awesome it would be if we coul- Oh, sorry, she’s running out of stars out here!

Anyway, Luna says the spell may be reversible, but only if the pony who originally cast it uses a reverse spell. I hope they’re still around, whoever they are!

Oh, and one more really important thing, you and the other girls have to-"

But there were no stars left to move. BitterSweet cursed at her misfortune, and decided that if she ever visit Equestria, she would not let Pinkie Pie write a letter for her.

She walked back to her room, wondering if the music was a part of the spell. She had never seen Luna use such magic on the show, but being able to move stars made sense to her. Night was her domain, after all.

After that, the little unicorn jumped into the basket and fell asleep. Her dream sent her to some kind of castle, where she found Kate dressed like a farm girl.

"Hey, Sweetie, want some tea?" Kate said and smiled. Bittersweet found herself sat next to a table, drinking tea with her sister.

"Before you ask, yes, I am the real Kate. Eris told me I can make ponies I know enter my dreams now. Is she trying to make me Princess Luna or something?" Kate smiled then looked at her confused sister. "So, the stars were quite different tonight, right?"

“You saw that too, huh? I thought it was pretty awesome, I had no idea Luna could do that. Hey, sis, did you also hear a strange music? I swear I’d heard that song before…”

"Your special talent is singing, why don't you try to sing the song?" Kate asked "Is just the two of us here, Eris isn't spying on this dream, she promised not to."

As soon as she began to sing the lyrics came to her, as if she had known them all along.

“This isn’t the first time,

It won’t be the last,

We’ve met in the future,

We’ll meet in the past.

All time shall unravel,

All things be unborn,

If none can withstand

The cold light of Dawn.

We’ve met in our dreams,

And we’ll meet in the light

The three stand united,

Upon Nightmare Night."

BitterSweet seemed drained, completely exhausted.

“Wait, what did I say? It felt like I was in a trance, like the words were locked inside me up until that point.”

"I think it was a song about three little ponies meeting up during Nightmare Night. I wish I could have recorded such a beautiful song." Kate said and hugged her sister. "Now, we still have some time, is there something else you wanna talk about?"

BitterSweet thought hard about the next question. He wasn’t sure how to put it.

“Kate, you told me you liked me more as a sister than as a brother. I was thinking, even if I get the chance, would you want me to change back? I mean, I’m worried we’ll become distant like before. Be honest, I’ll respect your decision either way. And even though I really don’t care what mom and dad will think, I’m willing to stay like this if you think it will keep us together.”

"Well, as a brother you were… a jerk. You ignored me, or you acted all superior, you acted like you didn't want others to know I was your sister. I want you to be happy because you are family and I love you, but… can't I be a bit selfish? If I can then I prefer you as Sweetie Belle."

BitterSweet smiled.

“Alright, I’ll stay like this for you, but please Kate, do me a favor… you’re going to be a teenager soon, and it’s possible that you’ll get tired of having a cute cartoon horse around. Promise me that you’ll remember that I’m your sister, and that I love you, even if I start to look ‘uncool’ later in life, okay?”

Kate laughed "Sister, you know why I am insane? Because I prefer the company of fantasy over reality, because I talk to imaginary friends at an age where I should have started to grow up. I don't think I will ever outgrow you. I might get tired of cartoons or ponies, but… you are family, that won't change."

BitterSweet became serious for a second.

“No, Kate, you prefer me now because I care about you. Me looking like this is probably just a bonus, though to be honest this look has kinda grown on me too! Please don’t tell anyone I said that last part. “

Sweetie Belle thought for a second.

“And you know what this means, right? Your wish will come true; you’ll get to be friends with a talking pony, no matter what.”

BitterSweet hugged her sister.

“Oh, and from now on, Sis? Call me SweetHeart.”

"I think Eris would approve that." Kate said then rubbed her chin. "Besides my wish was to be friends with ponies, as in plural, you are already my friend."

Kate then looked down. "It… it is wrong to be happy? To want to meet and hug cute little ponies even knowing they are really humans Eris forced to change?"

“Well I can’t speak for Applebloom or ScootaChew, but I think maybe this was a blessing in disguise, in a way. I’m still not sure how this new life is gonna work for me, whether I’ll have to get a job, or what things will be like when I get older, but really, some good has come from it.”

SweetHeart had another difficult question on his mind.

“Hey, Sis, I just wondered… how are we gonna tell mom and dad about this? I think we better leave the ‘changing back’ part out, if they find out I have even the smallest chance to change back and that I’m going to choose this life anyway, they’re gonna freak out ten times as hard.”

"They… they don't need to know, they think you are in jail anyway, remember? Besides, they never really… loved you much. You know how they reacted when I told them that lie? Like they had kind of expected that you would end up in jail. What did you do to get them to despise you so much anyway?"

“Well, I know they always wanted a daughter more, I guess that's why we didn’t get along for so long- you got all the attention and I was jealous, so I started acting out. To me, negative attention was better than being ignored. But then... they stopped caring about you too when you started going a little, erm, y’know."

"Crazy? Hey, I know I am not normal, but in a world with talking ponies, messages in the sky written with stars and an imaginary friend that turned to be a reality warper, who can say who is sane and who is not?"

“You’re right Kate, but I still feel I should tell them. I mean, look what this did for us! I mean, maybe this will be a clean break for them as well. I don’t think they’ll take it nearly as well as you have, and I have no idea how I’m going to explain any of this to them, but even still.”

"A wise man once said, you can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends. Besides, think they will prefer a pony instead of a son? They aren't like me, they won't believe you, they will send you away, you’ll get hurt. I am the oldest sister now, and I won't let you."

Sweetheart turned away.

“Then there is only one other option… Kate, we’re going to have to fake my death. If we don’t, they’ll think I’ve gone missing, and I’m not sure which would be worse. I mean, unless Eris agrees to make them forget about me completely, I’m not sure there’s any other option...”

"Eris already made them believe you are in jail, but she didn't have do anything to make them not want to visit you, they honestly don't want to see you again."

“You know, it’s ridiculous but I think I’d rather be forgotten than have them hate me the way they do right now. I’m so glad I have you, Kate. If you hadn’t been there to help me during the first few days of me being like this then I think I’d be wandering the streets now, cold and alone.”

"Sweetheart, if Eris makes them forget you, it won't just be their memories, every trace that you ever existed, maybe save for your facebook account, will be gone. She doesn't like to do things halfway, unless is for a joke. Are you sure?"

“Well, she may erase my past, but she wouldn’t dare erase me myself. She’s betting everything on me and the others being the ones to take down… well, whatever evil is out there. Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Did Eris ever mention any kind of ancient evil to you? Something she’d need three ponies to defeat?”

"Brother… did your life as a human suck that much? You are giving up on it quite easily." Kate asked on a worried tone. "Oh, and she hates spoilers, she might or not have told me, but real friends don't tattle each other."

SweetHeart leaned in closer, and whispered to her sister.

“To be honest sister, it kinda did suck that much. I was like a slob, but worse. No friends, no job, no principles, I hurt the people around me. Who would have thought it would have taken something this big to shake me out of that darkness!” she laughed.

“By the way, were you angry at her at first? She pretended to be something she wasn’t for years, and she has been pretty cruel to me and ScootaChew as well. Have you talked to her about it? Not to poke my nose where it doesn’t belong, if it’s between you and her I mean.”

"That's private BFF business ya know." Kate said crossing her arms "Besides… is kind of my fault you became Sweetie Belle. I might… have told the fake Sweetie Belle that I would prefer if she was my sister instead of having a jerkass brother."

SweetHeart seemed shocked for a second.

“Well, I’m sure you didn’t mean it quite this literally. And to be honest, I’d have probably said the same thing in your shoes. You were being ignored, Kate. By me, by mom and dad… you needed a friend. I guess that’s why Eris came to you in the first place.”

"Actually, I DID meant what I said, even if my idea was not having you change into a pony." Kate then started to pet the little pony's ears. "I guess that's why I didn't stay angry with Eris for long. She did give me what I asked, didn't she?"

Kate then smiled. "Oh, I could be so many things, I could be Princess Luna or Princess Celestia, or even greater… but… I honestly don't want that. I am still a young girl, I wanna enjoy it while it lasts, before hormones start to make me act stupid."

“Yeah, being a teenager sucked for me, and I can’t promise it won’t for you either. You’ll go through heartbreak and joy, and so many other things. That’s the price of growing up, you lose the child you were in order to face the woman you will become.”

SweetHeart looked wistfully into the distance.

“Still, it’s inevitable right? So there’s no point in worrying about it. Things are easier when you have to go through them, because everyone else has to go through it too. You won’t be alone, whatever happens, I promise. Not anymore.”

"Actually… it’s not inevitable. Not for me, Eris could make it so I’ll never grow up… " Kate said and seemed to really think about it for a moment.

"Mmm, I think know I won't really grew up inside, it’s part of my… condition, ya know? Is like a small part of me knows how someone of my age should act, but the rest of me just says 'nope, don't worry be happy!'. So… what do you think about that?"

“Well Kate, to be honest in some ways you are already more mature than I am, and I’m just over twice your age! I mean, let’s pretend you had turned into a pony instead. Would I have been as kind or understanding towards you? The old me, I mean? I’d have probably laughed or tried selling you to the circus, I was a HORRIBLE brother!”

"Well, you are a brony." Kate said as if that answered everything "No circus, you would have probably try to keep me as a exotic pet."

“That’s not much better really, and it shows how little I thought of you.”

"To be honest, I was kind of tempted to keep you as exotic pet when I found out you were my brother. Still… remember what I said about not wanting to steal your spotlight? Well… I might want some changes… after you are done with this adventure of yours."

"Screw that, 'who wants to live forever?' saying, I do want to live forever! Besides, somepony has to keep Eris company, right? So is it so wrong to want to live for a long, long time? Is not like I will have that much people that I will miss..."

SweetHeart seemed hurt.

“Well yeah, Sis, but you’d… you’d outlive me too. I mean, you probably will anyway, I mean I don’t want to know how long ponies live, but I hope I get about 80 years altogether.”

"Ponies in the show live a long time, Granny Smith was a young filly before Ponyville was founded. Still… I will miss you but… I am the Fluttershy of my Discord, kind of… so sorry, but I do want to keep Eris company."

“Sis… I understand. I hope there’s a heaven, because I want to see you happy from up there when I finally go.”

The dream world began to distort, the light growing dimmer. SweetHeart smiled.

“Well, I’ll see you soon, Sis!”

For a second, Sweetheart could have sworn she was in a different place. It felt like the future. She looked up at the moon, and saw it had been blasted in two. Eris was there, and she had a very serious expression.

“Beware the Dawn.”

Sweetheart awoke with a fright. What the heck was going on?

An Uncut Diamond

Day One

“Great. Four fic ideas and all of them suck, that must be a new record for me.”

The dim glow of the laptop reflected the exhaustion in Alos’s eyes. He had spent all night obsessing over ideas, and in the space of ten sobering minutes the chat room he frequented had torn them all apart, even his favorite, a story about Rarity he had been particularly proud of.

He had been trying to ignore the real problems in his life, but even writing had it’s limits. His parents were threatening to “throw his lazy ass out” if he didn’t find a job, but his winning personality had all but made finding one impossible. He sat there, half dreaming, eyes sore and blurry. As he gazed into the darkness the lines between dreams and the waking world began to blur.

Oh Rarity, what would you say in this situation? he wondered, yawning loudly.

Alos had always admired Rarity’s dedication to her craft. In many ways he had looked up to her, for even though creating dresses was about as far creatively from writing as could be imagined, he liked to believe that they shared some common ground. Closing his eyes, he started to doze off...

“My dear, I would tell you to take a break. You look simply disastrous right now!”

Alos couldn’t believe his ears. That voice was unmistakable.

“...Rarity?”

“In the flesh darling! Well, so to speak.”

Alos suddenly noticed he was in a strange area, like nowhere he had ever been before. It looked like outer space, but it wasn’t cold and he could breathe.

“Rarity, what’s going on? Why are you here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re dreaming! How else was I supposed to help you with this little story you’re working on?”

“Wait, you know about my story?”

“Why yes dear, Luna herself asked me to assist you with it. Besides, it’s always nice to meet someone who has an appreciation of style!”

“You think my work’s stylish?”

At this point Rarity gave a strained expression, like she was trying to hold back her true feelings on the matter. This didn’t surprise Alos in the least- he knew he needed to hone his craft.

“Well... you’re an uncut diamond my dear, not yet ready to shine.” She smiled. “You know, you remind me of my sister...”

Alos suddenly noticed the world around him start to grow, and something appeared to slightly obscure his vision, as if his nose had grown substantially.

“Oh my! I was told that the magic involved in talking to you like this could have strange side effects, but... well my dear, you’d probably better see for yourself.”

Rarity summoned a bag from the ether and rummaged around in it. Alos began to develop a rather uncomfortable feeling regarding this development. Why had the dream world become larger around him, and what was going on with his nose?”

At long last Rarity produced a face- size mirror and gave it to Alos, who fumbled it in his hooves.

What.

Alos broke out in a cold sweat. Rarity looked extremely uncomfortable and could no longer make eye contact.

Why do I have hooves? What the hell is happening!

Slowly holding the mirror, he finally gathered the courage to look directly at it.

He was Sweetie Belle.

“AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!”

“My dear, I am so, so sorry, I never knew dream magic could-“

“I AM A HORSE! I AM YOUR SISTER! WHAT IS GOING ON?”

Rarity looked hurt by the remark.

“Well! I’m sorry you find that form so offensive! Perhaps I should have left you to wallow in the mediocrity of your previous writing?”

This statement was so ridiculous that Alos just had to laugh at it. As if the writing mattered anymore. He was a horse! A little pony, and not even a boy one! His laughter turned manic, then broke down into a deep sobbing. As hot tears streamed down his face Rarity turned sympathetic.

“Now now dear, it’s not so bad! I’m sure you’ll turn back soon enough!”

“Like when I wake up?” Alos said, still trying desperately to recreate the sound of his true voice.

“Well of course darling! Even Luna herself can’t make dreams come true!”

Funny, this’ll probably be the only time I’ll ever be relieved to learn that dreams don’t come true!

“But this dream feels different...I’ve had hundreds of dreams before and I’ve never felt that any of them were this real before! What if you’re wrong?”

Rarity seemed to be struggling to find the right words for the situation.

"Oh Darling, I don't think Princess Luna would lie to me about something like that. Besides if somepony could change into somepony else just by having a dream, we would wake up as somepony different every day, right?"

Alos couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of changing form after every dream. It was so bizarre that it actually made him feel a little better.

“See? You’ll cheer up in no time!”

Alos decided that the smartest thing to do would be to keep Rarity talking. He had a bad feeling that, if Rarity was wrong about all this, that this would be the most normal conversation he was going to have for a long time, assuming a creepy scientist didn’t try taking him apart to see how he ticked when he finally got back to the real world.

Rarity suddenly looked pleasantly surprised, she had clearly thought of something to cheer him up.

“And you know dear, there’s one advantage to being stuck like this; magic!”

Suddenly Alos’ shock subsided, and his fear faded a little. Magic! Of course, Sweetie Belle was a unicorn, she could use magic!

“Well naturally you won’t be able to do much more than levitate a paper clip because of your age, but I imagine this will do as some small compensation for your current, er, state.”

The possibilities swam through Alos’ head. He imagined himself lifting things with his mind, teleporting, and doing all sorts of incredible things.

Rarity seemed very pleased with herself.

“You see darling? Enjoy the dream while it lasts, and even if the teeny-tiny chance that you’ll stay stuck this way does come true, at least you won’t be powerless! Well actually... most unicorn fillies can't do much with magic, but it sure beats using your mouth and hooves for everything, right dear?”

Alos pondered this new development for a second… he didn’t actually know any spells!

“Er, Rarity, you don’t happen to have a book of magic on you, do you?”

Rarity checked her bag again, before throwing him a small book.

“Well I suppose there’s no harm in giving you this, since this is a dream. Not that there’s much point either, but whatever.”

The edges of the world around Alos began to shimmer and wobble. Rarity seemed to notice this too.

“Oh my, it seems the dream world is growing unstable! Well my darling, it appears that our time together is near it’s end!”

Alos began to feel a deep sadness. For a brief second it felt like he really was her sister.

“Wait, Rarity! Will I... will I still be me? If I wake up stuck in this body, I mean?”

Rarity gave him a tender look and smiled.

“Yes. You’ll always be you.”

Alos re entered the waking world with a crash, falling out of bed. His vision was blurry, and as he went to rub his eyes he found himself bumping his snout with his hoof.

No no no no NO! DAMN YOU RARITY, YOU IDIOT!

Alos began the sort of rampage that only a tiny little filly could muster. He grabbed a pillow with his teeth and tried throwing it ineffectually against the wall, but he wasn’t even strong enough to manage that. He stomped his hooves and screamed, though his voice was still fairly quiet as he had yet to get used to it.

“This isn’t a dream, this is a NIGHTMARE!”

After his adorable temper tantrum was over Alos stared at his bedroom. All things considered he hadn’t really made much of an impact, and what little damage had been done really wasn’t noticeable, as his room was always a mess.

“At least you won’t be powerless!” Stupid lying Rarity, what does she know about dreams? If only Princess Luna was here, she could fix everything…

Suddenly Alos felt as if he was sitting on something lumpy. He turned and saw Rarity’s book of magic next to him. Yes, it had made the trip! Unfortunately, the smile dropped off his face as soon as he saw the title.

Making Dresses Magically

Volume One: Hems and Bows

***

After a few more minutes of cursing Rarity and his unfortunate fate, Alos came to terms with the situation. It had helped that he had done most of his screaming about it in his dream, as it meant his family hadn’t heard any of it.

What could he do? It was just a matter of time before he was discovered, and if he ran away he’d be homeless to boot!

He decided to see just how closely he resembled Sweetie Belle, and so went to the large mirror nearby. He was glad that it was basically as tall as the wall itself, as his tiny frame wouldn’t be able to see anything if it was any higher.

It was exact. Not only did he look like Sweetie Belle, but his new body was rendered in the same style as the show. He felt three dimensional, but looked distinctly flat in the real universe around him.

He tried styling his hair (mane?) but it stubbornly returned to Sweetie Belle’s style every time. He briefly considered cutting his hair to more closely resemble his own style, but without hands the idea quickly became impossible. Luckily his glasses weren’t falling off from the strange new configuration of his face, though he was a little disappointed that his new eyes still needed them. Just for fun he tried wrinkling his nose- it was every bit as cute as he imagined.

It was then that he noticed his horn. He gently touched it, and quickly pulled his hoof away. It was about as sensitive as he expected it to be, and he decided to leave it alone in future. He didn’t want to risk damaging it and losing the one cool thing about this sorry little mess, after all.

He blushed when he finally noticed he was naked. Not that it was a problem given his new species, but he still felt rather awkward about it. The fact that he had also changed genders only added to his embarrassment.

'This “magic” thing better be awesome', he thought.

He then began to consider his identity as a person-or pony, now. Should he call himself Sweetie Belle, or his own name? He, or she? Should he act like Sweetie Belle, or stay true to himself?

This last question was the only one with an easy answer; he planned on staying himself forever, even if it meant giving a long winded explanation to everyone who didn’t flee from the sight of him.

Speaking of which, Sweetie Belle- no, Alos!- had noticed that his sense of smell and hearing had increased significantly. He could hear the gentle rustling of the wind chimes that he knew were about 300 yards away at a friend’s house.

As for the smell, there was a faintly nauseating stench coming from the kitchen. Approaching the fridge, he opened it up to find a tuna sandwich from yesterday.

He could barely touch the thing, even though it was still fairly fresh. Out of a morbid curiosity more than anything, he decided to take a bite.

It seemed his taste buds had altered too. The fish tasted of flaky dead flesh, and he spat it out immediately.

'This must be what all meat tastes like to a pony', Alos mused. He then decided to test this theory by nibbling on a carrot he had left alone in the salad box for far too long.

Even though it was fairly mushy with age, the carrot’s flavour was wonderful to his new tongue. Juicy, sweet and crunchy! After helping himself to a few apples Alos was more than full.

But now what? It had been a wonderful breakfast, but he was bored, and needed to distract himself from his predicament. With great difficulty he attempted to start his computer. In the short space of time he had possessed them Alos had already decided that hands were better than hooves, easily.

He logged on to his favourite online chatroom and began to explain the situation.

hEy guys

Hey

Oh hi nooblet

So I tuned nto a hors

Your spelling sucks today

Thts becaus im typing with m tongue

Its disgutiing, i don’t even want to think of wat im tasting rright now

Dude, seriously quit it. You say stuff like this everyday and it’s getting old.

You’re not a horse, you’re a lonely neckbeard that is trying too hard.

PWNED

f this

had signed out (Quit:you all suck)

On second thoughts, it was his least favourite chatroom.

It was at that point that the door behind opened him with a creak.

Oh, no.

“Oh my God, you’re so cute!”

Oh God no.

Before Alos could even say anything his little sister had grabbed him. He tried struggling but she carried him to her room. At only eleven years old she was a diehard fan of the show, and up until this point it had been the only thing that she and Alos had in common. She had always been a strange one, but as the years went by it had become more and more of a concern for their parents. Alos could often hear them whispering about her when they thought he wasn’t there.

“So, you’re Sweetie Belle? I’m Kate.”

To Kate, the idea of her favourite cartoon intersecting with reality wouldn’t have bothered her at all. Alos began to regret in hindsight that his first reaction to her oddness had been to keep his distance, instead of helping her maintain a better grip on reality.

“Sis, it’s me! I’m not Sweetie Belle, I’m your brother, A-“

“So what’s it like being a pony? Do you need a lozenge? Because you’re a little horse!”

And you’re a major pain in the ass, you psycho.

“Sis, you gotta help me! I don’t wanna be stuck like this!”

At this point it dawned on Alos that Kate, as always, was only hearing what she wanted to hear. As far as she was concerned, he was Sweetie Belle, and if he couldn’t change her mind he could at least exploit it.

“That’s right Kate, I’m Sweetie Belle, and I demand to watch the television, turn it on!!”

Kate stared blankly at him. As usual, getting her to do anything was going to be a hassle. Clearly, he would need to negotiate.

“If you help me watch TV I’ll sing you a little song?”

Kate’s previously vacant face lit up at the suggestion, and within minutes she and Alos were watching My Little Pony together. The irony was not lost on him.

“So Sweetie Belle, what’s Applebloom like?”

“Eh, she’s a jerk.”

Alos revelled in the chance to ruin every bit of headcanon Kate had established since the show began. He claimed Celestia was a lazy ruler who made Luna do all the real work, and that Spike wasn’t allowed to leave Twilight’s house unless she said so. These were the nicer “facts” he told her.

“I can’t believe this! They all seemed so much nicer on the show…”

“Well yeah, but they have to keep it age appropriate, y’know? It’s not like the television shows in your world reflect your reality either.”

“Yeah, my brother says that all the time.” she sighed.

At this, Alos’ mind was bombarded by Sweetie Belle’s memories , including a few that were never even shown on the show. How could have he called Applebloom a jerk? She was- based on the memories he just had- a nice and kind filly, and always tried to be the peacemaker of the group. It was then that he felt a deep sadness. He had always been fairly distant from his sister, and had even considered her to be scatter brained if not outright crazy, but maybe he had gone too far this time. After all, the show had been one of her few joys in life, and now he had ruined it for her.

“Kate… I was lying. It’s all a big, nasty joke that went too far. I’m sorry.”

Kate considered him for a second, then looked away. Her eyes were shining.

"I don't like this game, Sweetie Belle. Why did you ask me to pretend we just meet then be a jerk like my stupid brother?”

“Wait...what do you mean, I asked you to pretend we had just met? Have we met before?”

Kate seemed unhappy with this.

“C’mon Sweetie, knock it off, this isn’t funny anymore. Can’t we play a normal game like we always do?"

'Wait a minute, She’s met ‘Sweetie Belle’ before? Oh my god, she IS delusional. Sis…'

And yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if he hasn’t gone crazy himself. He had been turned into a cute talking cartoon unicorn, after all. Was he really qualified to say what was sane or not?

What if all of this is in my head? Maybe I’m even crazier than Kate is… well, even if she’s crazy, she’s still my sister. I guess there’s no harm in humouring her for awhile.

"Hey… sorry about that. All those lies… I just said them because I was angry at… my sister." Alos then hugged his little (but relatively large) sister.

"Now, want to play or something?"

They began by playing Connect Four, which was the only game Kate could pull out of the massively overstuffed closet (taking anything from the massive pile of junk in there was practically playing a game of Jenga in itself). Alos won, as always, but he took care to let her win the last round.

“Hey, not bad sis, you’re getting better!”

“...Sis? Sweetie Belle, we’ve never played this game before. You always want to play Chess.”

“Oh right, I’m sorry. You just reminded me of my sister is all.”

They then had a quick game of chess, which Kate won with ease. It had always struck Alos as strange that she was so good at such a complicated game, and yet she couldn’t play something simpler to save her life.

I guess she must have had a lot of practice with “Sweetie Belle” Alos thought darkly.

Oh yes, she’s quite the skilled player. said a voice in Alos’ head.

'Wait, Sweetie Belle? Is that you? The REAL you?'

'Not the real deal, but the one who plays with your sister. Thank you very much for finally taking time to play with her!'

'Wait, I’m losing track of Sweetie Belle’s here. Are you the third or-?'

Listen, that doesn’t matter. I’m here to talk to your about your new form, and why-

-The hell it doesn’t! You tell me who you are and why you’ve been playing with my sister, and you tell me now!

Oh, fine! I’m not really an imaginary Sweetie Belle, I am… Suddenly, the world turned grayscale and froze, save for Alos, and he could see a strange creature in front of him, it kind of resembled Discord, if Discord was female, cute, and about Sweetie Belle’s size. What was this? A gender reversed little Discord?

"...Little Eris!" she said proudly, as if he should already be familiar with that name.

Alos didn’t know what to say. He decided to play it cool despite his frustration, as he knew all too well the sort of damage an upset draconequus could cause.

"So, you’re the one that plays with my sister. I should thank you I guess,” he said aloud. ” I get the feeling she’d be pretty lonely without you. It’s not like I’ve been a very good big brother to her." Alos said to her "You know what? Maybe I deserve to be stuck like this…"

"Really? That was kind… of anticlimactic." The young draconequus said, sounding disappointed. "Anyway, my name is Little Eris, or just Eris. I come from a gender reversed version of Equestria, and I found the human world by accident. And guess what? I am the only magical creature around here… well besides you and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders of course!"

"Wait a second… you don’t happen to know why this happened to me, do you? Your kind revels in chaos after all, and me turning into a little filly seems to fit the bill pretty well... "

"I dont know if I should feel insulted or grateful that you just didn't assume it was me all along. Hello, female Discord here?" she said, folding her arms and putting on a mock-hurt tone of voice.

"It WAS you! How could you do this to me? Was it because I wasn’t a good enough brother to Kate, or was I chosen at random?"

"It actually started with a funny idea I had: What if dreams could become reality? It would be complete chaos! But then I realized humans dreamed a lot of things, and making it all happen at once wouldn't be chaotic, it would be more like apocalyptic !" she laughed.

"Oh well, at least you were considerate enough to NOT destroy the world. Great job I guess. Besides, what right do you have to mess with people’s dreams- that’s like reading a person’s diary, but a thousand times worse!"

"You just kind of admitted you deserve to be stuck as Sweetie Belle, remember? Now could you let me finish my story please? Or you don't want to know why I did all this?"

"Well before you start your story again, I have a few questions if you don’t mind! Firstly, why Sweetie Belle? I’m nothing like her at all, she gets on really well with her sister! Secondly, why did you choose to start messing with dreams all of a sudden? Don’t you have the power to alter reality in the real world? That could have saved you some serious time, and there’s a good chance nobody from Equestria would have realized you had even done it! And lastly, you said the Cutie Mark Crusaders- as in more than one. Does that mean I’m not the only one you’ve changed? Who were the other two unlucky ones?"

"-Anyway, I decided to look around people dreams, and then I found a guy talking to Rainbow Dash, the REAL Rainbow Dash for some reason.” she said, ignoring him completely. “ And then the guy was turned into Scootaloo as a joke by Dash, it was impossible to resist making it stick for when he woke up! Then I tricked Rarity and Applejack to talk to two other guys… and made sure they turned into the two missing members of the Cutie Mark crusaders. And that's it!"

“Well thanks for answering a whole one out of my three questions,” Alos muttered under his breath.

This was getting him nowhere. Little Eris was having far too much fun to change him back, so he decided to change tactics.

"So, who are the other two poor losers? I bet we could cause some serious chaos if we met up!"

"Really? 'Serious chaos?' That didn't sound in character at all! Try to act more like Sweetie Belle, ok?"

Crap, she’s on to me! I better think of something fast!

"Well, the way I see it I might as well cause some havoc with this new form. I mean, I can’t let you have all the fun after all! And besides, there’s more to me than meets the eye!"

Urgh, so forced. I bet she’s only going to get angrier if I don’t wrap this up soon, but I NEED to know who the other two are before she leaves!

"Listen Little Eris, I’m gonna level with you. I really want to return to my original form and if I can’t do that then at least I don’t wanna be alone. My sister thinks I’m a product of her imagination, and I have no idea how my folks are gonna react when they find out but it definitely won’t be good, so please please PLEASE give me a break and tell me who these other two ponies are!”

"Well… tell you what. Play with your sister for today and I will tell you tomorrow, ok?" Little Eris then smiled and teleported to Kate’s room, whispering a few things in her ear before she left. "Good luck!" Little Eris then winked and disappeared, the world returning to normal.

“Oh thank you thank you THANK YOU! I promise I’ll give Kate the best time ever!” he yelled into the darkness, hoping she would hear it.

Alos walked to Kate's room. She was playing her Xbox and seemed rather preoccupied.

“Hey Sis, you mind if I join you? You’re going up against the final boss already…?”

That night, Alos trotted out to the sidewalk and gazed at the stars. He had played with his sister for five hours straight, and hopefully that had been enough to please Eris. Worryingly however, she refused to disclose whatever Eris had whispered to her.

Well, at least there’s hope now. I’m not sure what this Eris girl wants, but she doesn’t seem completely evil, at least...

Alos considered whether he should start calling himself a 'she' now instead. Did it even matter anymore? If he couldn’t meet up with the other crusaders, if he didn’t figure out a way to change back… then he might as well start thinking of himself in that way. He-no, she- would be stuck like this forever otherwise.

For the first time in her life, Alos saw a star shoot across the sky. It was the second new thing to happen to her today, and it was by far the more pleasant one.

"A shooting star, huh? I wish… I wish…"

But she was already sound asleep before she could think of anything, her tiny body too tired to continue for the night.

However, unlike the filly, her sister Kate not only had seen the star, but actually wished on it.

"I wish... I wish that no matter what, I can become friends with other talking ponies like Sweetie Belle." That had been her insane, childish request. She remembered the words she had heard whispered in her head;

'Kate, Sweetie Belle is now real. No matter what, don't let your parents hurt her or take her away. Also, if you happen to see a shooting star, make a wish using your heart, not your mind.'

Then, seeing Sweetie Belle asleep on the front porch, Kate picked her up and took her inside. Kate was careful to put the filly over her brother’s bed and cover her with a blanket. Kate didn't know where his brother was, but if that was the price for making Sweetie Belle real she wasn't going to complain. It was terrible to admit it, but having her best friend be real was better than a brother that never had time for her could ever be.

Still, she hoped that her stupid brother was okay in whatever place he was now.

Alos had entered the realm of dreams again. It was much like the last time, but she felt alone. She decided to take the time to reflect on the things that had happened.

All things considered, was it really so bad? She could still talk, after all, and her mind, despite being plagued constantly by thoughts and memories that were not hers, remained her own. Tomorrow she was going to discover the whereabouts of the other two crusaders, and together they might even be able to convince Eris to change them back!

Besides… as crazy as it was to admit, being Sweetie Belle had given her a chance to talk to her sister, to make up after years of neglect. She had opened up about things she never would have admitted to her, and for the first time in a long while they were as close as siblings should be.For the briefest instant, she even questioned if she wanted to change back, but quickly quashed that idea as being part of the madness of the day.Whatever happened next, she hoped that her newly forged bond with Kate would stay strong. It had almost made this whole crazy mess worthwhile.

Little Eris watched over the sleeping filly and smiled. Oh, So the female elements of harmony and those princess were trying to find a solution? Let them try, she had claimed all of Earth's magic as her own, an easy task as it seemed no pony on Earth had used real magic for centuries. Besides, she wasn't even the Discord of their universe, and by claiming all the magic, she had also received certain… responsibilities.

Yes, as much as she hated it, she could no longer live as the carefree chaos creature she had once been… while it seemed all this was just a prank on her part, there were powerful forces at work, important reasons why each of the pony races needed an unwilling representative on Earth.

It was the same old story, told since time immemorial; a great evil awakens, and destiny summons heroes to defeat it, right? Oh, but responsibilities or not, she was chaos, and the tedious predictability of destiny made her blood boil. In truth, not even Eris herself fully understood what role these three fillies would have to play, and the idea excited her.

Whether they succeeded or not was left to chance, a simple flip of a coin- and there was nothing more chaotic than Lady Luck.

After all, it wasn't like they didn't have time to prepare. She was gonna train them, and whatever happened, she was sure of one thing:

It was going to be one hell of a time.